She stared at her reflection: silver-streaked hair, laughter lines, dark circles beneath her eyes. She looked middle-aged. Was middle-aged. Where were the white hair and deep creases of later years she’d expected to see as her end neared? Too soon … way too soon . Thoughts of a missed future – of laughing grandchildren, long summer days pottering outside, retirement holidays in...

Added 11 Jan 2020 | Category Micro Fiction | Votes 8 | Avg Score 5 | Views 126 | 9 Comments

It didn’t look this high from below. “That’s it, take it nice and steady.” Nodding at the instructor, I lean back, gripping the rope tightly, and ease it through the cleat. My feet slip on the wet rock as I struggle to find purchase, heart hammering fit to burst. Below, Anika waves, the movement caught in my peripheral vision while I’m staring straight ahead. How did she talk me into this?...

Added 07 Aug 2019 | Category Romance | Votes 8 | Avg Score 5 | Views 686 | 9 Comments

  Characters:   Ellie Carmichael Early thirties, Information Systems Technician Tom Carmichael Late thirties, Life Support Systems Engineer Yinzi Chen Mid-forties, Project Manager Joe Green Late-twenties, Communication Officer Liz D’Souza Late-twenties, Supplies Officer Tyrone Symonds Mid-thirties, Construction Manager Sophie Carmichael Five years old   SCENE ONE ...

Added 26 Jul 2019 | Category Plays | Votes 10 | Avg Score 5 | Views 496 | 10 Comments

Gaze fixed on her phone, Jaz read the email again without taking in a word. She squeezed Tish’s hand, her grip tightening when raucous laughter exploded from the four men sprawled on the seats diagonally opposite. “I mean, look at ’im. Fuckin’ poof.” Tensing, Jaz looked up to see the man in the outside seat facing her, lean across the table and send a beer can clattering to the floor....

Added 12 Jul 2019 | Category Drama | Votes 11 | Avg Score 5 | Views 485 | 11 Comments

It didn’t fit. It was the right style and cupped her left breast like a glove, but the right side gaped. “Everything alright?” Angie twisted, checking all angles in the mirror. “I’m going to try it with the blouse,” she said, bending to extract a small square of folded white cotton from a blue plastic bag. “Call if you need me.” “Will do.” Angle shook the blouse, tags flapping. She...

Added 31 Jan 2019 | Category Flash Fiction | Votes 13 | Avg Score 5 | Views 1,039 | 12 Comments

Remember when we headlined at Alleycats, 420 East Street? Remember the heat, the buzz, the whole place packed to the rafters and reeking of liquor and cigarette smoke? Do you recall the spotlights cutting through the haze and the bone-shaking throb of the bass? Good times. The best. Our one chance to shine. Living on potato chips, cocktails, and laughter, we warbled passion to a lazy blues...

Added 24 Sep 2018 | Category Micro Fiction | Votes 28 | Avg Score 5 | Views 952 | 28 Comments

  I sit on the beach, absently raking fingertips through the warm sand while listening to the cheerful clamour all around. My fellow holidaymakers laugh, squeal, shout to one another, their shrill cries mingling with the raucous shrieks of the gulls wheeling and swooping overhead. My gaze fixes on the waves lapping the shoreline. Each gentle splash and foaming spray is followed by the...

Added 15 Aug 2018 | Category Musings | Votes 12 | Avg Score 4.92 | Views 615 | 14 Comments

Leaning as far over as she dared, she peered under the lake’s gently rippling surface. She could see all the way to the silt and rock bottom but couldn’t discern a black rectangle protruding from it. The phone was gone. “Stupid, stupid,” she muttered. “Where is it?” She risked leaning even farther, searching beneath the canoe but the old wooden vessel creaked in protest and tilted...

Added 23 Jul 2018 | Category Flash Fiction | Votes 14 | Avg Score 5 | Views 696 | 12 Comments

Cassie twitched. She jerked to the right and, fingers flexing, clawed the metal-tipped armrests before her hands flopped limply onto her lap. Light infiltrated her closed eyelids; swirls of colour that expanded and deepened, driving away the dense shadows of sleep. Feelings – a jumble of emotions with no apparent source – ebbed and faded, leaving behind disjointed remnants of panic and fear...

Added 02 Jul 2018 | Category Science Fiction | Votes 10 | Avg Score 5 | Views 567 | 10 Comments

So, I got a diagnosis today. I was told that I have a condition that will, eventually, lead to my demise. My fate, it seems, has been sealed. Set in stone. Really? I’m not so sure. I mean, they’re right, it could be what finally gets me but only if I avoid bad drivers, runaway trains, boating accidents, mad cyclists, parachutes that don’t open, planes that crash land, bits falling off...

Added 09 May 2018 | Category Musings | Votes 14 | Avg Score 4.93 | Views 428 | 12 Comments